Nah … actually, it won’t. Among the many things the IOC does poorly is thoroughly explain anything, and that makes it harder for anyone else to get what it’s doing and why it’s doing it.

When was the last time you ever saw modern pentathalon on TV, David Steele asks. (AP Photo)

Believe it, the explanation it gave upon making the decision won’t help. It’ll only make you mad, and seriously consider not even watching in 3 1⁄2 years when the next Summer Games are in Rio.

Oh, who are we kidding, Usain Bolt will be there. Anyway …

In a nutshell: One of the sports wrestling lost out to for retention in the Games was modern pentathlon—you know, the sport that’s sweeping the planet, combining fencing, show jumping, running, swimming and pistol shooting. Part of the argument presented for keeping the sport was, to quote a vice president of its international governing body, “Tradition is one of our strongest assets.’’

So modern pentathlon, which has been an Olympic sport since 1912, stays in. Wrestling, which has been an Olympic sport since 1896—not to mention since the original Olympics in ancient Greece—goes out.

Goodnight, drive home safely.

According to all the reports on this decision, the IOC used 39 criteria to evaluate the sports on the chopping block, and among them were television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation and popularity. No assumptions will be made on how airtight drug-testing has been for either wrestling or modern pentathlon, or whether that weighed more or less heavily on the choice.

Just look at the other criteria listed, and explain how modern pentathlon beat any of the other sports, especially wrestling. Better yet, try to remember (a) the last time other than the Olympics that modern pentathlon was televised anywhere you’ve been, and (b) the last time you got into a discussion about modern pentathlon, other than every four years when you laughed about how that’s still a medal sport. It doesn’t even rank among goofy, can’t-take-your-eyes-off sports like curling and trampoline.

And that’s not to come off as ugly-American or jingoistic at all, certainly not in an argument about wrestling. As popular and beloved a sport as it is at the club, prep and college level, it still isn’t exactly on the national radar the way, say, football is, or primetime viewing during the Games the way track and swimming are.

But it’s safe to say folks are wrestling in a lot more places around the world than they’re riding horses, fencing and shooting—and definitely in more places than they’re doing those all in the same event.

On the universal list of true sports of the common people, sport distilled to its most basic elements of competition, boxing and wrestling are as basic as they come. If they’re not the true essence of the Olympics, they’re pretty close.

At the other end, arguably the extreme opposite? Modern pentathlon, which actually had to be created specially for the Games by the “father” of the modern Olympics, Baron de Coubertin. He also happened to be one of the geniuses who formulated the “amateur” athletic concept that has made a mockery of fairness in sports to this day.

The modern version was an update of the original combination of sports used in the ancient Games, and intended to simulate the skills of that era’s cavalry soldiers. Because, apparently, the more sporting events modeled after warfare, the better. Great plan all around, and one worth preserving for as many centuries as possible.

So … would you be surprised if the decision was wrapped up in political and financial chicanery?

Never forget, two fundamental principles fuel the entire Olympic empire: shortchanging athletes and extracting money. Wait, check that … that’s what fuels the NCAA. OK, never mind, it works for both; we’re all straight now.

One would think that if global popularity, attendance and ratings really meant anything, pentathlon would’ve been tossed back in the 1960s, and wrestling would’ve been awarded a lifetime berth.

However, according to reports, the aforementioned pentathlon international governing body lobbied passionately to keep it in. Helping with the effort was the governing body vice president quoted earlier, who spoke of “tradition.’’

That VP is Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. He’s a member of the IOC board. He’s also the son of the former president of the IOC who ruled for 21 years. Raise your hand if your initial reaction to that wasn’t a laugh, or if you were sure that was a typo, or that you were hallucinating.

"We were considered weak in some of the scores in the program commission report but strong in others," Samaranch Jr. was quoted as saying. “Others,’’ it appears, included nepotism. And you thought NFL head-coach and general-manager hiring was a good ol’ boy network.

To be fair, the international wrestling governing body has been accused of corruption as recently as the 2008 Games. Why that should be a factor when it comes to the IOC is another story. Clearly, wrestling fell short in the critical category of IOC president-prodigy depth.

And, as promised in the beginning, it all makes sense now. Right?

Of course not. It’s the Olympics. Not the games and athletes and competition themselves, but the machinery behind it. The totality of how it doesn’t make sense is exactly why it makes perfect sense.